The Pittsburgh Steelers traded WR George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, a move that makes them worse off for 2025. While they added future draft capital, former Steelers safety Ryan Clark doesn’t think the Steelers are good enough to compete for even a winning record after dealing Pickens.
“It sounds like they’re tanking. And I know they aren’t, because they’ve made other moves, but when you look at this roster, this roster can’t compete to have a winning season,” Clark said on ESPN’s Get Up this morning. “This roster can’t compete to be a playoff team. This roster can’t compete to be an AFC champion. And in no time that I’ve been associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, have I felt that way. And it’s not only about the way the roster looks like, it’s the way they’re moving and maneuvering around building this roster. I don’t really understand what’s going on.”
Clark added that he has a “ton of faith” in Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin, but he wouldn’t put any money on the Steelers to succeed this year.
The Steelers went from having potentially one of the best receiver duos in the league with Pickens and DK Metcalf to a room that has a lot more questions than answers. It’s a similar situation to 2024, when the Steelers had Pickens and no clear-cut No. 2 WR. There’s potential for the Steelers to continue to add to the room, and the team has already been linked to New York Jets WR Allen Lazard, a favorite of QB Aaron Rodgers, whom the Steelers remain in pursuit of.
But there’s no question that the room and the offense isn’t better without Pickens. The reasons for trading him are understandable – Pickens hasn’t been easy to deal with, racking up thousands of dollars in fines from the team and the league, he wasn’t going to be re-signed with 2025 being the last year on his contract, and the team guaranteed itself future draft capital. But it’s a weird move for a team that supposedly wants to win now to make, especially after the draft and not addressing wide receiver during it.
The Steelers have found a way to win with rosters that don’t have a lot of offensive talent, and while both Clark and his ESPN colleague Dan Orlovsky don’t think the Steelers can win with what they have, it feels a little too early to make that declaration. But the wide receivers room is now much worse, and there’s no one available who could replicate Pickens’ potential production.
Simply put, the Steelers aren’t a better team today than they were yesterday.
